TNF-alpha - 308 G>A and IFN-gamma

Background: Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is associated with immunogenetic factors. This study was planned to test for the association of TNF-alpha - 308 and IFN-gamma + 874 gene polymorphisms with susceptibility and severity of SLE in Egyptian cases. Subjects and methods: This is a case controlled study including 125 Egyptian cases with SLE in addition to 112 healthy unrelated individuals from the same locality. For all participants, TNF-alpha - 308 GNA and IFN-gamma + 874 ANT genetic polymorphisms were characterized using the PCR technique. Results: Cases with SLE showed a significantly higher TNF-alpha - 308 A allele carriage rate (AA + GA genotypes) compared to controls (26.4% vs. 12.5%, p = 0.009, OR = 2.51, 95% CI = 1.26-4.99). These cases showed also a significantly higher carriage rate for the IFN-gamma + 874 T allele (AT + TT genotypes) compared to controls (47.2% vs. 32.1%, p = 0.02, OR = 1.89, 95% CI = 1.11-3.21). Comparing age, gender, and disease severity presented by nephritis class, activity and chronicity indices in cases carrying the TNF-alpha - 308 A allele and in cases carrying IFN-gamma + 874 T allele versus others showed no significant difference (p > 0.05). Conclusions: TNF-alpha - 308 A and IFN-gamma + 874 T allele carriage are associated with susceptibility but not severity of SLE in Egyptian subjects. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.